Congratulations! You still haven't quit grad school! Don't worry--that overloaded sense of defeat, stress, and lack of confidence is a natural feeling that only a select group of grad students get to experience. Have you cried yet? No? Good! Lack of any discernible human emotion is a sign you're progressing nicely.
Still, advice never hurt. Let's continue with random notes about how to act and talk like a grad student:
Did you know that graduate school is the most interesting place in the world? True story. That's because every reply you have to every possible topic of every conversation in every class should start with how interesting you found something.
Are you talking about Shakespeare? "I found it interesting..." Edith Wharton? "I found it interesting..." Cormac McCarthy? "I found it interesting..." The weather, baked goods, cellphone plans, the architecture of downtown Boston, or the intricacies of clipping fingernails--it doesn't matter the topic, you must say it. "I found it interesting..."
Feel like that's a little redundant after awhile? Variations are acceptable. Try these:
What struck me...
What caught my attention...
It was curious to see...
What I found engaging...
What was intriguing...
It was compelling...
You might be thinking to yourself, "But what if I don't find something interesting?" Then it's clear that you're not trying hard enough. Of course it's interesting. It's also compelling, intriguing, and engaging, too. Everyone says so. And if grad school teaches you anything, it's that whatever everyone says is true.
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